


A little wine before a jogging

by Celine1618



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 21:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5642260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celine1618/pseuds/Celine1618
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Canon-compliant extension of the scene in 1x06 where Cosima steals two bottles of wine and runs off with Delphine.  One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A little wine before a jogging

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tumblweed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tumblweed/gifts).



> For tumblweed, because ... because I also wanted to relive the happier, headier days of season 1. I wrote this out long-form from Delphine's perspective, but when I started typing, Cosima took over. Unedited, unbetaed.

She felt the blonde's every glance, sidelong and obvious, searching her profile, and lingering there. _Looking for some sign of recognition, interest, maybe?_ But her gaze lingered too long, drifted too often to her lips, her slouching body. _I think this girl is into me._

Cosima tried to focus on the thin, charming, slightly disturbing Dr. Leekie. His severe cheekbones and his obvious arrogance irked her immediately. And the tale he was spinning bordered too closely on eugenics, on perfecting beautiful imperfections. 

She knew Delphine brought her here to … what? Woo her to the dark side? But something about the energy coming off this tall, unexpected French woman had her enthralled. The oversized sweater revealing just a hint of her bra, her blonde hair bobbing every time she laughed. And boy did she laugh. She chuckled, and giggled, and did this silent, shoulder-shaking thing, and her hair swayed with every flavor of her laugh. _This girl is definitely your monitor, you idiot. Get it together._

-.-.-.-.-

When the lecture ended, Delphine wanted to speak to Leekie. Motioned for Cosima to join her. Cosima was hesitant, slightly annoyed, but she couldn't resist the urge to know what was going on, dig a little deeper under the surface of the clone conspiracy. And the blonde looked nervous, nearly begging her to join. 

The challenging banter made her rethink her immediate dislike of Leekie, but only slightly. _He’s still an arrogant ass, and definitely involved in the conspiracy somehow. Neurolingual chip. Psshh._

Cosima noticed Delphine responding to her attitude. _She’s no sycophant, she’s not a freekie Leekie._ Cosima could tell she enjoyed seeing her challenge him, liked that she was not so easily brought into his sway. 

Cosima desperately wanted to escape the stifling room, the lecture hall with posters of Leekie making more evident the gulf between them, the elephant in the room, the unspoken truth that they were on opposite sides of some sort of … battle. She quickly but subtly walked over to the table and snatched two bottles of red, the blonde responding with a surprised gasp, but a twinkle in her eye. Cosima chuckled a bit, rarely getting the opportunity to play the cad.

As they walked briskly out, a security guard saw the bottles, walked after them, and shouted a bit as they exited into the brisk afternoon air. “Hey, hey, I saw that. Come back here. You can’t take that.”

Cosima grabbed Delphine’s free hand and they took off running through a small courtyard, losing the guard behind a separate building. 

“He’s totally not gonna follow us. Low-paid campus security. He doesn’t give a shit about DYAD's wine.”

“Cosima, Cosima,” she gasped, “what were you thinking?!” She tried to sound exasperated, but she was grinning the whole time. 

“I dunno. I thought, we have been studying all day, you dragged me to a lecture about eugenics, so I thought we could use a little … time to relax?” She held up the bottle and quirked an eyebrow.

“Oui. I could use a little wine.” Cosima led them over to a bench. An old spruce provided cover should their guard get a little overzealous.

As they sat down, Cosima started fumbling with the wrapper around the neck of the bottle. _Screwcaps, thank god. I hadn’t even thought of that._

As she sat there fumbling with her own bottle, Delphine reached into her bag and pulled out a black multi-tool, peeling off the foil with ease.

“What the hell, Delphine. Are you some sort of survivalist or something?”

“You never know, mon ami, when you might need to open a bottle of wine.” She slowed at the end, voice quirking up as she shook the tool and pointed to the built-in corkscrew. Delphine shifted her body to face Cosima, curling herself atop one leg, open, giving the brunette her full attention.

“Is that like a French thing?” 

“Hmmm, maybe a European thing? But, I am already drinking and you are fumbling, yes?” 

“Ohhhh, who’s the brat now, Frenchie?”

“C’est vrai.” She winked at Cosima, and then pulled her lip firmly between her teeth. A habit Cosima had noticed, one that threatened her resolve to maintain a safe distance. She could hear Sarah’s voice telling her to stay away, but each time her eyes met the blonde’s she realized she was fighting a losing battle. 

They both brought their own bottles to their lips, seemingly silly now to have two open at the same time. They looked at each other as they sipped, unceremoniously, straight from the bottle. Delphine licked her lips, gathering an errant drop of red, and Cosima’s eyes flicked to her lips, then back to her eyes. She could have sworn Delphine’s eyes followed suit.

“So, future immunologist Delphine Beraud, why are you so interested in Neolution? You aren’t one of those freekie Leekies are you? Got silver hair hidden away somewhere.” She unconsciously reached a hand up to tug at a curl, recognizing the flirtatious, teasing contact too late to stop herself. She also carefully searched Delphine’s countenance for any confirmation of her suspicions, for any trace of the lies she was telling. 

“Non, non, Cosima. I find it fascinating. Genetic modification, it is difficult, yes, but it can cure some diseases, assist evolution, prevent suffering.”

“Yeah, but the way he was talking, it’s totally eugenics, Delphine. If he had been saying this 70 years ago, he’d have ended up at Nuremberg.” Delphine was speaking carefully, avoiding any direct lie. Cosima couldn’t decide if that made her trust the words she actually uttered or balk at her carefully constructed speech.

“Whoa, Cosima.” Delphine turned to her. “I told you, Neolution is not … eugenical.”

“Oh, Delphine, c’mon. Maybe not on its face, but can you imagine how technology like that could be so easily misused?” She had set the bottle aside and her hands were waving wildly, as if punctuating her words in the air. “I mean, there are always radicals wanting to perfect the human race. But you don’t _need_ radicals, just make this tech widely available and you enable the worst prejudice.”

Delphine hadn’t quite thought of it like that, and cocked her head at the passionate girl. “D’accord, Cosima, I can see your point. But, think of the illness, genetic predisposition you could erase, oui? The lives, the QALYs saved from averting disease?”

“Oookay, but like, you let this cat out of the bag and you never know how it will be used.”

“The … cat?” Her eyes were raised in question, but, just like Cosima, she was grinning.

“It means, like, um, you can’t control the monster, you know. Like pandora's box. I’m just saying, it is a really cool concept, and Leekie makes it sound _so right, so good, so inevitable._ But, it isn’t necessarily. I just get nervous when someone claims to have all the answers you know? You might think it’s neotopian, but the wrong series of events and, hello dystopia.”

She stopped talking for a beat, and looked at the blonde who was staring at her with the oddest expression. Something masked and distant, but also like she was seeing her for the first time. 

“Mon dieu, Cosima, the way you speak.” Then a small smile grew into a wider grin as she tipped the bottle back again.

Cosima continued, encouraged, “I mean, what I find most fascinating about the whole of the human race are all the ways in which we are different, the little imperfections that make us who we are. Yes, disease sucks and we should be exploring ways to eradicate whatever we can, but not at the expense of what makes us human, you know?”

Delphine nodded. “Je comprends, mon ami. I understand. You did not like the lecture then?”

“No, no, it was interesting, of course.”

“I am sorry. You were already bored with studying, and I take you to this.” She looked down at her hands and seemed genuinely sad or embarrassed, and the sight just killed Cosima. 

“No!” She reached out to grab Delphine’s hand, lingering, noticing the blonde’s eyes drift to their hands as she bit her lip distractedly. “I had so much fun today, Delphine. Thank you for inviting me. I … I totally enjoy talking to you about this stuff, I swear.”

“Vraiment?”

“I hope that means something good.”

“Oui, um, yes. I like spending time with you.”

Cosima realized her hand was still on Delphine’s, and she hadn’t moved an inch. She lightly squeezed her hand, and leaned back, taking one last swig of the wine. “Okay, that’s good. Me too.”

Delphine looked at her watch and gasped. “Oh no. I need to go.”

“Right now?” Cosima's voice was strained a little, sad, her eyes and lips tilting down a little at the abrupt change in tone. 

“Oui, I am so sorry.” She moved to stand and gather her bag.

“No, no, totally cool.” They walked back toward the courtyard, a slow stream of people exiting the post-lecture cocktail hour.

In the distance, Cosima could see the security guard recognizing them, searching their faces, and then his eyes landed on the open, half-drunk bottles.

“Hey!! Hey! Stop!” He was a beefy guy, a little round and squishy at the edges, but he was picking up his pace, clearly annoyed that they had outrun him before.

Cosima clenched Delphine’s fist and ran the opposite direction through the quad to the stone arches of the exit. “Run!”


End file.
